Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV told Spanish lawmakers today that three Spanish saints—St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), and St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1566)—can assist the people of our own age, which he characterized as “so dark.”

In extemporaneous comments this morning on his flight from Rome to Madrid, Pope Leo XIV said that the Iran war does not meet just-war criteria.

Ambassador Personnaz, the president of Fonds des écoles d’Orient (Fund for Schools of the East), told Vatican News that he hopes to “maintain and enrich the dialogue between France and the Holy See. Because France and the Holy See are two poles of reason, places where people seek ways and means to ease this international situation, to try to find paths toward greater peace or at least dialogue among peoples.”

The ambassador added that “it is clear that the crisis in Lebanon is of critical importance, because Lebanon remains a touchstone for Christians across the region; the hope of all Christian communities in the Middle East therefore hinges on Lebanon’s future.”